Bridal Faire
by HotaruGFC
Summary: Inspired by the Bridal event on Infinite Knights a few weeks back. Yami and Charlotte are given a special assignment by Julius, during which Yami talks Charlotte into following through with one of his spontaneous bad ideas. One-shot for now. May be continued later?
1. Chapter 1

The summons had been peculiar, even for Julius. Charlotte mused over whether Marx had any idea what the summons was for, or if he refused to tell her. Sometimes the aide was difficult to read, especially via magical communication devices. All he had been able to tell her was that the Wizard King requested her presence for an assignment. Since she had become a captain, nearly all her assignments came directly from Julius, but this type of summons was rare.

And so Charlotte found herself staring up at the stone facade of Magic Knight headquarters.

"This better not be anything ridiculous." She muttered beneath her breath as she pulled the door open. She strode purposefully through the hallways to the antechamber outside Julius' office. Marx waved her directly into the room without any sort of the usual pretense. The aide's expression was relaxed in a way which only meant Julius was being responsible today. Overall, the message was clear; Julius was expecting her and was focused on whatever mission he had in store for her.

Charlotte passed through the heavy wooden doorway into the office where Julius was uncharacteristically seated behind his desk working through some paperwork. He put his pen down and stood as she approached and saluted.

"Ah, Charlotte. I'm so pleased you could make it. How are you doing?"

"You did summon me, Lord Julius. My duty is to answer your call." She skirted his attempt to make small talk.

"Right, of course. Straight to business."

"You mentioned a mission?"

"Less a mission and more a... request." He hunted for the right word. "It's an assignment for which you are uniquely suited."

Something in the way he spoke concerned her. She felt her brow furrow slightly. While her magic was versatile and well suited for both attack and defense, Nozel was just as versatile. She could think of no way the phrase uniquely suited could pertain to her.

"You see, the kingdom's Bridal Faire is coming up, and..." Julius' voice was hesitant as he tried to find the right words to explain the situation without offending her.

Bridal Faire? Charlotte's eyebrows shot up.

"And one of the designers, well, he wants to be a designer, but, anyway that doesn't matter right now. He needs a model."

As Julius rambled around the point, Charlotte's face grew more and more incredulous.

"No." She said flatly, her hands shaking with contempt.

"But Charlotte, you are one of the, if not the most beautiful women in the kingdom..."

"No. And you know such flattery doesn't work on me." Though Charlotte could feel her cheeks grow warm. She was not sure if it was the compliment or her building rage at the request which caused it, however.

"The nobility would really pay attention if you..."

"No." She cut him off again.

"He's a commoner so no one has bothered to take a look at his designs and they are quite ingenious."

Charlotte sighed.

There it was.

Julius had a soft spot in his heart for commoners trying to build bridges, or rather ladders across the social stratification.

"He is really quite talented." Julius smiled at her hopefully.

"Then you were the dress."

Julius sighed and slumped his shoulders as he perched on the edge of his desk. Charlotte had never quite seen him look so defeated.

"Can you at least just meet him? He's even designed a dress inspired by you."

Charlotte took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She pressed her lips together and chewed lightly on the inside of her bottom one as she shook her head.

"Fine." She threw her hands up in resignation. "I'll meet him. But no guarantees."

Within the hour, Charlotte found herself clad in a white gown. The dress clung to her chest tightly, curving perfectly to her form before billowing out into a voluminous skirt. Her decolletage and shoulders were bare and made her feel naked, despite the tall opera length gloves. The plunge of the neckline did not help matters any, either.

But, the fabric was fine and felt nice against her skin. Even the lace, which she had always hated when her mother had dressed her in it, was not the itchy mess she remembered, but rather felt soft and nearly nonexistent.

The look on Julius' face and the small whispered 'wow' confirmed her fears. She was too exposed, too bare. To his credit, he recovered his composure quickly, but Charlotte felt the heat rise in her face once more-again, unsure of its source. The designer, a young man who looked no older than twenty, turned her toward a full-length mirror which had been set up in the office, and Charlotte saw herself for the first time. She couldn't help the startled gasp which escaped her lips. She barely recognized herself in the gown, but who she did see in the mirror was absolutely stunning. Charlotte had no clue how, but the designer had made the dress a perfect fit. The pale blue detailing on the fabric subtly contrasted with her skin and simultaneously brought out her blue eyes.

"We have a couple of more pieces to put on before it's complete." The designer fiddled with her hair, pulling down the tight bun and allowing her golden locks to cascade down her back. "Oh, I meant to add this first. Can you lift up your hair?"

Charlotte complied as she glanced at Julius in the mirror. The Wizard King had said nothing, only gawked at her. He looked away when she caught him. The designer laid a delicate collar of lace around her neck. The piece reminded her of the gorget she wore with her armor, only it was far more intricate. Once fastened securely around her throat, the young designer took her hair and fussed around with it as he tried to figure out the way it might look best. In the end, he swept most of it over one shoulder before he fastened a small hairpiece to it.

Even though she watched him put on the finishing touches, Charlotte felt as if a stranger were staring back at her from the mirror. The woman there was elegant and poised. She reminded Charlotte of all the lessons her mother tried to force on her when all she wanted to do was train and get stronger, strong enough to break the curse looming over her head. Her mother had always planned for the future she wanted Charlotte to have-the life of a noblewoman filled with parties and events, governed by her husband's needs and wishes. Once the curse was placed, Charlotte knew it was a life she would never have, regardless of if she had wanted it.

But there was a time, perhaps, when she had been small, a time before the curse, when she had played at being a princess or a beautiful bride and loved the romantic stories she read which often accompanied such flights of fancy. The memories of that young girl and her fantastical hopes and dreams, her world of make-believe sparked within her as she looked at herself in the mirror.

Under the designer's skillful craftsmanship and attention to detail, she had become the princess fantasy of her youth and the blushing bride her mother had always wanted.

And she had to admit to herself, she was beautiful. She ran her hands over the finely crafted gown and sighed. Her shoulders slumped a bit in resignation before she straightened once more in an effort to keep the lines of the dress perfect.

"Fine." She tried to keep her voice neutral, as she was not certain which of the multitude of emotions waging war within her would be conveyed. "I'll do it."

Julius sat a little taller and the designer's excitement was unmistakable.

"On one condition." Charlotte turned and looked the Wizard King square in the face. Her eyes were hard because they had to be. If she let herself feel any bit of vulnerability, she would never be able to get the words out of her mouth.

Julius blinked at the seriousness in her face.

"What condition?"

"I need you to get a piece of information for me."

Julius cocked an eyebrow. Charlotte felt herself waver, questioning how she could bother the Wizard King with such a task.

"Oh?"

Charlotte looked back to the designer who was fussing with the hem of the dress. The young man looked up from under the weight of her stare, his hands still wrapped around the delicate fabric, fluffing it.

"Could you please leave us for a moment?" She gave him a small smile, at which he blinked a couple of times before regaining his composure and nodding. He hurried across the room. When the door closed behind him, Charlotte turned back to Julius.

"What information do you need?" Julius crossed his arms over his chest as he looked down at her.

"It's stupid actually and I don't even know why I want to know..." Charlotte lied as she started pacing the room. She knew exactly why she wanted to know. "But, well, it's been bothering me lately..."

"Charlotte, you're rambling."

"Does Yami have... feelings for anyone? Like anyone in particular?" The words tumbled out of her mouth in a rush, lest they never leave her mouth at all. Charlotte gasped at having finally asked the question, albeit in a roundabout manner as possible. The conversation they had in the cave after the Third Eye had left had confounded her. His manner was typical, but his joking had raised questions for which she had no answer. And coupled with the following day, when he had barely noticed her at all... her overthinking mind had left her a mess.

She caught the slightest uptick of a smile on Julius' lips before his placid Wizard King face fell into place once more. Charlotte's heart pounded as she worried she had given away too much. But she had to know.

"Well, I don't know. Not offhand." Julius' face took on a faraway look for a moment before he smiled. "I might be able to find out. Will that do?"

Charlotte felt her face go crimson once more as she chided herself for being so unguarded with the Wizard King. Surely, he's figured it out.

"You know what? Forget I even asked."

Charlotte sighed before she turned back to the mirror. The stunning woman looking back at her still surprised her. The dress was beautiful; she was beautiful in it.

Maybe, just maybe, if he could see her in this... She shook the thought from her mind. Who was she kidding?

"But, I'll do it anyway. I guess. " She turned to examine herself in the mirror more fully.

"I might never have another chance to wear a dress like this again. I might as well take the opportunity now," she muttered under her breath.

"Thank you, Charlotte. I know it is an unusual request, but I do appreciate your assistance."

The kid knocked timidly on the bathroom door, but it still disturbed Yami's golden time.

"Uh, Captain?" The voice outside the door held an appropriate amount of fear, which at least somewhat made up for the disturbance. "The, um, the Wizard King is here."

Yami folded his newspaper, his curiosity peaked. He finished his business and went to greet his boss and mentor.

"What brings you way out here, Old Man? What do you want?" Yami lit a cigarette before crossing the room, ignoring the state of the common room and the several squad members in various states of consciousness.

"Who says I want anything?" Julius looked around the room before settling his gaze on his former protege. He wore the ineffable smile as a mask and Yami knew he was up to something.

"Why else would you come out here?" Yami blew smoke in his general direction and Julius waved it away, his face screwing up in an expression of disgust.

"Can't I just want to check up on my old friend?"

Yami only blew smoke at him again. Julius coughed lightly.

"Fine. I, um, I have a request. It's sort of a personal favor, so..."

"No."

"Yami, just hear me out."

"No. Every time I do you a personal favor, something weird happens."

"I promise this time it won't."

"Oh yeah? You said the same thing last time and I ended up in a choir?"

Julius chuckled.

"But they needed a bass, Yami and your singing voice is... passable."

"No."

"It's just a little stage performance, and it will be over before you know it."

Yami cocked his eyebrow.

"Nothing with you is just a little performance."

"Oh, just..." Julius closed his eyes and sighed. "Walk with me, will you?"

Yami looked around at the mess of the common room. He made a note to have the kid clean it later as he deposited his cigarette in an empty wine bottle.

"Fine." He led Julius out the front door.

The pair walked in silence for a moment, circling the haphazardly designed building.

"This is an interesting place you found." Julius tried breaking the ice.

"You say that every time. What is it you want?"

Julius sighed again.

"Always straight to the point with you." Julius marveled at how similarly the conversation with Charlotte had started.

"I'm trying to help a young designer get noticed. His work is quite remarkable, but he is a commoner, and well..."

"The nobility don't like him much."

"Exactly."

"Then convince him to work for other commoners."

"It's not quite that easy. You see, he wants to design gowns-ball gowns, formal wear... wedding dresses."

Yami rolled his eyes.

"Here we go..."

"It's really not that bad. I just need some people to act as... escorts at the Bridal Faire."

"Escorts." Yami took a long drag on his cigarette. He did not like the twinkle in Julius' eye or the emphatic nodding of the Wizard King's head.

"Can you help me out? I'll have a suit sent over, and it will only be for a little while, I swear."

Yami sighed.

"You're going to owe me."

"That bottle of whiskey I've been saving?"

"Fine."

Julius erupted in a grin.

"Great, thanks. Now I've got to find a couple more people but... Oh, just out of curiosity, there's no one are risking angering by doing this is there?"

Yami looked over and blew out a plume of smoke. His brows knit together in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

"No, really I don't."

"You're not... involved with anyone who might get jealous of you doing this. Are you?"

"Huh?"

Julius shuffled his feet.

"Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?"

Julius shrugged.

"No, I'm not seeing anyone. And why do you care all of a sudden?"

"I just would hate to see a request like this cause you problems is all."

"You're a terrible liar, Julius."

"So, tomorrow afternoon, alright?" Julius triggered something within his robe and a portal opened before him.

"Wait, you didn't tell me why you wanted to know," Yami called after him as he disappeared into the space between worlds, his voice trailing off as the portal closed. He stood in the clearing on the edge of the woods which surrounded the house and finished his cigarette. Julius' squirrelly behavior concerned him and he wondered what exactly he had gotten himself into. As he turned to go back inside, he saw Asta leaving the building for his daily training.

"Kid, you remember to restock the toilet paper?"

"Uh," Asta thought for a moment. The kid's daily chore list was massive, encompassing the majority of work to be done in the place, even though each person was responsible for their own rooms.

"I think so. Yeah."

A sudden thought made Yami smile in a way which made Asta gasp and blink. Yami could sense a touch of uncertainty in his ki.

"I have a special mission for you tomorrow, Kid. You're coming with me to the capital."

Asta stuttered his acknowledgment before running off to train.

Charlotte looked over at the young redhead as they were both dressed and made over for the event. She had seen the girl before at an event though she could not quite remember which one. The red hair reminded her of the Vermillion clan, but the girl did not carry herself like any of the lions. She was also being dressed in one of the commoner's designs, Charlotte noted as the young man fussed over the fit of the gown. Somehow, despite having guessed her measurements so precisely, he had not quite matched the fit of the girl.

An assistant painted her lips red and Charlotte admonished herself for thinking of the young woman as a girl. She too was a Magic Knight with her grimoire and as such was an adult, even if she seemed quite young. Still, the flower-festooned gown fit the demeanor of the young woman quite well.

"Captain Charlotte, I see you were roped into this as well." The girl-young woman, Charlotte corrected herself-took a seat next to her and had her own face painted.

"The Wizard King can be most persuasive, can he not?" She giggled nervously.

Charlotte scoffed. Persuasive was one way to describe him. Manipulative was another. Charlotte blushed, knowing how she had let her own curiosity and her own desire make the decision for her. Julius had yet to inform her of any news on the matter. She sighed.

"Indeed." She looked over at the young woman, seeing her small smile and the hopefulness in her eyes, wondering what tactics Julius had employed to ensnare her.

"Mimosa, Captain. Mimosa Vermillion."

The pieces clicked in Charlotte's mind. She was indeed a Vermillion, but Kirsch's relation rather than Fuegeleon's.

"Of course. I sometimes have difficulties with names." Charlotte lied to cover her ignorance. As a royal, Mimosa would not have had to participate in the entrance exams as others would, so Charlotte had little reason to be aware of her existence. But sometimes, a lie to cover tracks was more suitable than the admission of apathy to the existence of another, especially when the other was a royal.

"What do you think we will have to do? I mean, I'm excited to be able to wear such a beautiful dress." Mimosa blushed as if the mere thought of marriage was exciting in and of itself.

"But are we just to be models? Do we walk around or what?"

"I'm not certain. Lord Julius did not go into any details with me."

"Me either."

Both women sighed. Charlotte hoped the entire fiasco would be over quickly and she would be able to get on with her life, but Mimosa seemed to vibrate in her seat as they waited.

"What the hell is this?" Yami's voice boomed through the room where he and Asta were brought to change. The room was sparse but had a couple of small floral arrangements on the table and a pair of suits hanging on a row of hooks on the wall. Even from a distance, Yami was skeptical about the cut of the suits. They both seemed fairly generic in design, which was fine, but both were also cut for an average-sized man. He looked over at Asta and then back to the suits.

"How the hell does he think these would fit either of us?" Yami muttered crossing the room. He took the jacket from the hanger with a sneer on his lips. He had never felt comfortable in such formal wear and tried to find every opportunity to avoid wearing it.

Asta touched the suit with a strange sense of awe.

"That whiskey better be worth it."

Yami tried the coat on and could barely move his arms. As he tried to button it, the center back split between his shoulders. Shaking his head, he stripped the ruined garment from his body and tossed it to the floor. Asta hurriedly tried his own suit on, but the sleeves, while wide enough, were too long. The pants as well were not suited to the young man's stature. Yami thought he looked like a kid playing in his father's clothes, despite Asta being a man in his own right.

Yami lit a cigarette and chuckled, but Asta looked disappointed.

"What are we going to do, Captain?"

Yami's answer was interrupted as Julius entered the room. The Wizard King said nothing as he looked from the pile of the jacket on the floor to Yami, to Asta flapping the ends of his coat like wings and back again.

"Well, this won't do, will it?" Julius shifted a bottle from one arm to the other.

"I was sure they were going to fit..." He placed the bottle down on the table between the two small flowers before crossing the room and picking up the coat at Yami's feet.

"Do you have something you could wear? Something formal?" Julius' face was painted with worry.

"You know I hate this sort of stuff." Yami blew out a plume of smoke.

"Can you not smoke in here?"

Yami grunted but complied as he stubbed the cigarette out in a dish on the table.

"I have something, I think, from another event," Asta answered. "It's not a suit or anything, but it's better than... this." He flapped the overly long sleeves once more.

"Great. Yami?"

"Yeah, I guess I have something that could work. Finral!"

The spatial mage had hung back on the fringe of the room looking for his chance to escape but had gotten distracted from his girl-chasing mission by the fiasco before him.

"Yeah, Boss?"

"We gotta go back to the base."

Finral nodded and opened a portal.

"Just escorts, right?" Yami asked for confirmation. Julius refused to look him in the eye.

"Yes; just escorts."

Though Yami didn't quite believe Julius with the humorous glint in his eye.

Charlotte and mimosa stood on the edge of the town square waiting. Charlotte hated waiting. Especially when she didn't quite know what she was waiting for. Eventually, the event coordinator spoke to them. Apparently, Lord Julius had planned for there to be a mock ceremony as a way to showcase the young designer's dresses.

"Well," she said. "If we are to be fake brides, where the hell are the fake grooms?"

Mimosa looked at her in shock, as if she were surprised by her language. Charlotte couldn't help it. She had grown. more and more irritated with the entire event. And now to be left waiting... she was about walking away and saying to hell with it all. She had a multitude of other work she could be doing instead.

Laughter behind her made Charlotte spin around, or as best as she could in the dress anyway.

"Oh no," Mimosa muttered as she caught sight of Nozel and his brother approaching.

"Well, Mimosa, I never thought I would see you look more ridiculous than you do in a golden dawn robe, but here you go proving me wrong." The younger of the two Silva's laughed and wiped his eyes from the tears spurred by it.

"Solid, behave." Nozel glanced at his brother before turning his attention back to the two would-be brides.

"But it does beg the question of what you two are doing out here dressed like that." His eyes scanned Charlotte quickly before settling on her face. He barely reacted to her exposed skin.

"We are on a mission, actually. Julius asked us to help him."

"Ah. One of his little... projects?" The Wizard King's pet projects were well known among the Magic Knight captains. They all tried to avoid them as much as they could.

Charlotte nodded.

"I don't suppose you two are the ones we are waiting for."

Nozel raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Uh, no. What are you waiting for?"

"Apparently there is supposed to be a mock ceremony."

"Are you sure Julius isn't just marrying the two of you off?" Solid piped in but was quickly silenced with a look from Nozel.

"The people who are supposed to be the grooms in this farce haven't shown up yet," Charlotte explained, feeling every bit of her desire to shove her whip hilt up Solid's ass.

"Sorry, we have actual work we need to do. Hope you can get back to real work soon too." Nozel called back to her as he and Solid walked away.

Charlotte grunted and the coordinator appeared out of nowhere.

"So sorry to keep you waiting, but we should be ready to start shortly."

Mimosa shifted her weight between her feet and only grumbled once about her feet hurting. While beautiful, the gown's associated footwear was not nearly as comfortable as the gowns themselves, as they were not personally tailored.

"Is this the right spot?" A familiar voice echoed from an alleyway. Charlotte felt a shiver travel down her spine.

Another younger voice answered him. Charlotte could see mimosa grow red out of the corner of her eye. Charlotte hoped her own response had not been so obvious.

She stiffened when she saw Yami approach. He was dressed strangely, as was typical. Why it still surprised her, she did not know. The look on his face when he saw her warned her of months of teasing in her future. The young man with him looked to be about Mimosa's age. She recognized him as the kid with no magic Yami had accepted into his squad. She had been impressed with the young man's determination and skill, but something about him still creeped her out. She did notice, however, he was dressed more nicely than the few times she had seen him. He almost looked formal in his attire.

"Don't tell me..." she muttered under her breath as the pair of men approached, leaving the statement hanging as she did not feel the need to complete it.

"What's with the frilly get-up?" Yami laughed, but his eyes roamed over her body in a way which made Charlotte feel more exposed than she had ever been. Her blush deepened and she could feel the warmth of it spread to her shoulders and chest. Eventually, he landed back on her eyes, though his gaze struggled to stay there.

"I'm on assignment from Lord Julius, which requires me to dress like this. What are you wearing?" She pressed her lips together and bit the inside of her bottom lip. The robe he wore exposed much of his chest and she wanted to take him in as he had done with her, but she refused to let herself stoop to his level. He was the foreigner, the hoodlum, the scoundrel. She shouldn't want him as much as she did. He wasn't even attractive, not like Nozel or Kirsch. But something about him had captured her attention. Something about him made her want him beyond reason. And she wanted him to want her as well.

"The Wizard King gave us an assignment too." The kid spoke up. His wide green eyes danced from Mimosa to her and back. Charlotte noticed he had not once looked over either of them, as Yami had. She wondered if the young man was simply naive or if he was not attracted to women.

"He asked us to come here for..." His brow furrowed and he scratched the back of his head.

A man in a dark robe with its hood pulled over his head approached.

"You are all here today to participate in a mock ceremony. The designer and the Wizard King both decided a publicly staged event such as this would be the best way to display the beauty of his creations."

"A mock ceremony?" Yami couldn't believe his ears. Did Julius expect them to play like the bride and groom?

Charlotte blushed as Yami crossed his arms next to her. A quick glance showed her he was frowning. Obviously, he had also been roped into this without being fully aware of what he had signed up for when Julius had come calling.

Mimosa's face matched her hair and she looked shyly at the ground. Charlotte thought she could see a hint of a smile on the young woman's lips. The young man, Asta if Charlotte recalled correctly, looked unconcerned as if the news did not surprise him at all.

"Yes. The ceremony is for show, to let people see how the gowns move throughout the various parts of the process. You will walk through the saying of vows and exchange of rings, but will not participate in the grimoire binding or sign any contracts."

"I've done this at least ten times. It's not as bad as it might seem, Captain Yami."

"When the hell have you ever been involved in a wedding?"

"I did grow up in a church. Sometimes Yuno or I would act as standings for the bride and groom to practice before the wedding if they couldn't practice together."

"Why wouldn't they be able to practice together?" Mimosa asked, having gotten over her coyness. Charlotte thought the young woman seemed a little disappointed.

Asta shrugged.

"I never asked. I guess because of work or something?"

"As long as it's not the actual binding." Charlotte swallowed. She hoped Yami couldn't sense her racing heart.

"I guess it will be alright." Charlotte closed her eyes, feeling the flush on her cheeks. Even walking through the motions with Yami excited her. Maybe one day they would stand together for real, binding their grimoires and thus their souls together. A thought struck Charlotte and filled her with panic. What if the binding didn't work? She had heard of instances where the bride and groom had inscribed each other's grimoires in blood as was tradition, but that the inscription had faded nearly immediately.

"Well, if everyone is agreed?" The robed man looked at each of them in turn. Mimosa and Asta nodded.

"What the hell. I wasn't doing anything interesting anyway." Yami tossed his cigarette to the ground and stomped it out with his foot.

Charlotte looked at him and then back to the robed man who would be officiating the 'ceremony." She nodded.

"Very good. Now, let us begin with the processional. You will walk from here to the square and then ascend the platform. As this is not an actual wedding, you two will escort the brides." The officiant looked at Yami and Asta. "No need to recruit the father of the ladies for an event such as this."

Walking with Yami? Charlotte took a deep breath as she tried to calm her heart. Arm in arm?

"You two will process first." The officiant looked at Asta and Mimosa as he physically placed her hand on his. "Then you two will follow." He tried to position Charlotte and Yami's hands in the same manner, but Yami grabbed her hand first.

"I think I can figure this out," Yami said with a bit of a sneer.

Was he blaming Lord Julius for this whole debacle?

"Very well. Once on the platform, we will walk through the ceremony simultaneously. The younger couple will be first, but we will complete each portion for the two pairs before moving on. Understood?"

"Yes!" Asta practically shouted and the officiant nodded.

The robed man strode across the square toward the dais which dominated the center of the plaza. The music swelled out of nowhere and the man nodded at Mimosa and Asta to begin the processional. The music played at an easy tempo setting the speed of the procession. Yami held for a few moments, allowing the younger couple to fully enter the plaza and command the attention of the gathering crowd.

"You alright?" He asked, not looking at her.

Charlotte did not know how to answer the question. Holding hands with Yami and preparing to walk in a bridal procession with him had her heart racing.

"I'm fine." The words came out strained and she gripped his hand more tightly. She took a deep breath and tried to relax, telling herself the entire thing was pretend.

"You're a horrible liar, Charlotte."

"Well, I said I wouldn't be caught dead doing something like this with you, but here I am." She hoped the excuse would be enough to throw him off the real reason for her nervousness.

Yami chuckled as he started moving down the path laid out for them.

"That's right, isn't it. Yeah, you're probably right that this, you, me, would be a bad idea."

"The worst."

Or the best, her heart cried out.

"So why don't we just do it?"

"What?" She knew he had a spontaneous streak which often led to bad decisions on his part.

"The binding. If we are as poorly suited as we think we are, then the binding should fade automatically right? We would be no worse for wear."

Charlotte felt the panic rising in her body at the suggestion. On one hand, she wanted to scream yes, to take the leap and hope it would turn out for the best and the binding would hold and link them together for eternity. On the other hand, she feared all of the possibilities. She worried he would be right and they were not meant to be. Her disappointment would be overwhelming.

But she also dreaded the possibility of being tied to him forever and having to explain herself to her squad. The idea of facing her feelings for him made her more than anxious.

"Charlotte?" He glanced at her, but she kept her eyes focused on the platform before them.

"Hmm? Oh, right."

Of course, the binding would fade and their connection wouldn't last. The fading would probably happen almost immediately.

"It's not like it will change our friendship or anything. We're still colleagues, still Magic Knights." Yami continued in a way which made Charlotte wonder if he were trying to convince himself. His voice was steady though with no hint of nervousness.

"But... what if it does? I mean, what if it works?" Charlotte felt her whole body shiver. Whether it was fear or anticipation, or a little of both, Charlotte couldn't tell.

They took a couple of steps in silence.

"I guess we'll be partners then," Yami said quietly as they approached the stairs which would lead them up to the dais.

"Partners?" But what kind of partners? Would they be the kind who had each other's back and supported them no matter what? Or would there be... more to it? Charlotte did not know which she would prefer, or even if they could be both. Maybe both were what she wanted.

"I guess we would figure that out as we go." Yami shrugged.

Charlotte stopped at the bottom of the stairs and closed her eyes. She pressed her lips, painted an uncharacteristic shade of red, into a thin line. He had always been good at goading her into things, whether he knew it or not. He could even not be the one doing the goading and his mere presence would convince her to throw reason to the wind. And he was too reckless, too spontaneous, but he made good points sometimes. If she went through with the binding, as he suggested, she would have her answer about their suitability, their compatibility for each other.

And it would probably amount to nothing anyway, she told herself.

"Alright. Why not?" Charlotte was certain Yami could feel the shaking of her hand on his arm. She twisted her free hand into the skirts of her dress to keep it from shaking too much. She looked straight ahead at the wooden stairs, but she could feel his shocked gaze on her.

"I mean, you're right. We have nothing to lose."

Except for my pointless infatuation with you, Charlotte added in her mind.

"Right. Shall we go then?"

Charlotte nodded and they moved forward.

He had suggested it as a joke, as a way to get a rise from her. She always gave him the best reactions to his teasing, all embarrassed and blushing. Yami had expected more of the same at the suggestion they submit to the binding ceremony, even though they had been told it was not to be performed during the 'ceremony'.

He had never expected her to agree.

But now that she had, he could not back down. He never ran from a challenge, even when he knew better. He would see this through to the end.

Charlotte stood stiffly next to him, staring straight ahead, not once turning to him as the robed man walked Asta and the red-headed young woman through the commitment part of the ceremony. The kid recited his parts like a pro as if he had them memorized. Yami realized he probably did, what with his obsession with the sister who lived at the church in which he had grown up.

He looked over at Charlotte standing next to him. Her bare shoulders and exposed decolletage was certainly a welcome sight. She was typically so covered up it was easy to forget she was a woman. But a woman she most definitely was, and a beautiful one at that.

She gripped his arm until her knuckles were white and the skin on his arm was red and bruised. Her ki was in turmoil and her breathing was unsteady. Her cheeks were pale white instead of the blush he was so used to seeing on them as if her fear had blanched her.

He placed his other hand on top of hers and looked forward, taking a deep breath. He contemplated using her fear as an excuse to back out, but he knew she would not. She would never admit defeat, especially at the hands of a man. He liked that about her.

He saw her glanced at him and heard her take a deep breath before turning her attention to the robed man who now stood before them. Her ki grew quiet and her grip on his arm slackened.

"Shall we begin?" The officiant smiled at them. "Turn to face each other and take her hands in yours."

Yami reached out for Charlotte's free hand and slipped his arm beneath her hand so that her hands rested on his. He had never noticed how thin and delicate her hand were. They rested lightly in his large hands like tiny white birds. He could feel them trembling against his skin before he wrapped his fingers around hers. He stared at how his fingers had enfolded her hands.

"Now look at her."

Yami lifted his eyes to Charlotte's and his breath caught. He had looked her over quite carefully when he had first seen her, but now he truly saw her. And she was beautiful.

"You will repeat after me. Lady Charlotte, we will start with you. Please try to project for the crowd." The officiant said softly before he launched into the standard vows.

Yami had heard them before a couple of times-declarations of undying support in good times and in bad, that sort of thing, but he couldn't focus on them. Not when he was trapped in the crystalline eyes. Her voice was rich and warm, though it quivered a bit. It had none of the coolness to which he was accustomed. Something about her at the moment was vulnerable and open in a way he had only seen once ever before, many years ago. She had been scared then as well. Angry, then, too. But then something had shifted in her and she looked at him in a way he had never experienced since. Until now.

The robed man had to call him twice before Yami heard him and freed himself from her paralyzing gaze. He shook his head and cleared his throat as he tried to further break the spell she had placed on him.

"Right. Sorry."

"Are you ready now?"

Yami licked his lips and looked back at Charlotte. Her face was open and her eyes were wide. He could see the muscles of her throat contract and relax as she swallowed. Her red-painted lips were parted slightly, but her mouth was more anxious than happy.

"Yeah. Yeah, I am."

"Alright, repeat after me, please. And try to do a better job with projecting than Lady Charlotte."

She reddened at the mention of her lackluster performance. But Yami could remember nothing of it.

"I, Yami Sukehiro, of sound mind and body," The robed man started. His eyes were focused on the book he held in his hands as he read.

"I, Yami Sukehiro, of sound mind and body," Yami repeated, feeling himself falling deeper into the clear blue of her eyes.

"Do hereby pledge to you, Charlotte Roselei."

"Do hereby pledge to you, Charlotte Roselei." His voice broke on her name.

"That I will be yours in times of plenty and times of want."

"That I will be yours in times of plenty and times of want." Yami's voice was a soft low whisper.

"Please try to project." The robed man whispered a harsh reminder before continuing with the traditional vows. "In times of sickness and in times of health."

As Yami repeated the words, he tried to speak more loudly but found he could not. He could only say the words loud enough for her to hear.

And as he said them, he realized he meant every word.

Charlotte had not been able to put on a good show, but she had gotten through the exchange of vows. With each section, her voice had gotten softer until it was an intimate whisper, though she was not certain Yami had even heard her. He had stared at her, nearly expressionless. She worried he had dozed off or had grown bored with the whole ordeal, with her.

But her doubt was erased the moment he began his recitation. The way he said her name sent shivers down her spine and made her toes tingle. The timbre of his voice was softer, warmer, more gentle than she had ever heard his voice before. She could feel his sincerity in his words and in how he held her hands.

And Charlotte wondered for the first time ever, if he had felt the same way about her all along.

"I promise to cherish and respect you, to care and protect you, to comfort and encourage you, and stand by your side, your partner until our magic unbinds." He squeezed her hands. His eyes traveled over her face, lingered on her lips as his tongue darted out between his. The look in his eyes warmed her soul and made her want to close the distance between them, but the look also scared her.

They had agreed to attempt the binding, with the expectation it would lead to nothing, but the way he looked at her made her wish she had never agreed. Now, though, she worried how she would feel having seen the way he looked at her as he recited the vows if the binding did not work.

Though part of her was still scared it would.

The two couples both turned to face the robed officiant in preparation for the next section of the ceremony.

"And that concludes the exchange of vows. At this point of the ceremony would be the soul binding, but we are going to skip directly to the exchange of rings. Asta, Mimosa? Do you have the rings?"

Charlotte leaned around Yami to watch Asta pull out a pair of small steel rings.

"Hey, no peeking." Yami squeezed her hand and tugged her closer to his side.

"Don't worry, I have some too. They aren't anything fancy, just a pair of stand-in rings." He whispered.

"Still, this is my favorite part of the ceremony."

She could feel his chuckled vibrate his body beside her.

"You nervous?"

"Me?" Her voice was higher pitched than normal. She cleared her throat.

"Of course not." She forced herself to say normally. She stared straight ahead again and squared her shoulders.

"Of course not. Nothing's too intimidating for Her Prickly Majesty."

At one point, she might have taken offense at the barb, but the warmth in his voice was unmistakable.

"I cannot have myself shown up by a man, especially one such as yourself." she retorted, feeling a small smile twist her lips upward. He squeezed her hand again.

And then the officiant stood before them.

"And do you have the rings?" He looked at Yami.

"Actually, we are going to perform the binding first."

Charlotte thought she heard a collective gasp throughout the gathered crowd. The officiant looked at her with wide eyes.

"You consent to this?"

Charlotte nodded.

"I do."

The robed man cleared his throat nervously and looked out at someone in the crowd. He gestured, throwing up his hands in an attempt to say 'what do I do?' when he found whoever it was he had sought. After a second, he closed his eyes, shook his head, and sighed.

"I do not have the required equipment with me," he said when he finally addressed Yami and Charlotte once more. "Now, the rings. Please."

Yami scratched the back of his head and tilted it as he looked at the robed man.

"All we need is blood, right? A way to draw it?"

"And your grimoires," Asta added from where he stood next to Mimosa.

"Right, and our grimoires. Charlotte you have yours, right?"

"I wouldn't be caught dead without it." Her grimoire responded to an unspoken command and hovered open before her, bathing her in a soft blue glow.

"And I've got mine." Yami's also hovered before him.

"And..." He dropped Charlotte's hand and placed his hands on the handle and scabbard of his sword. He used a thumb to push the blade out slightly before drawing its full length.

"We have the means to draw blood."

Charlotte's eyes widened as the sound of the blade scraping against the lacquered wooden scabbard. He must have sensed her fear-he had always been good at sensing things like that-because he turned to her.

"It's very sharp. You will barely feel it."

Charlotte looked at the blade and then at him. Everything happened so fast, too fast, but she could not back down now. Her reputation was on the line and she would not be able to face her girls if she backed out now.

Or at least that's what she told herself.

The pinprick she had seen in her cousin's ceremony had seemed simple enough, but with Yami's blade staring her down the entire situation had suddenly become far more real than she had anticipated.

"I guess that would work." The robed man said slowly, his eyes searching the crowd for whoever was calling the shots. Charlotte guessed Julius was behind everything, and she wondered how their spontaneous decision to include this portion of the ceremony had thrown his plans askew.

"Do you still consent?" The robed man asked her, his own face panicked.

Charlotte took a deep breath and nodded. She had felt her throat go dry and worried if she tried to speak, her voice would crack.

"Alright then. Both of you, repeat after me. 'Blood to blood, soul to soul'."

Charlotte's heart threatened to jump out of her chest as she repeated the words. She took Yami's free hand and felt his fingers squeeze hers once.

"Together we are bound in spirit, in mana."

Yami's voice still held the tender quality she had noticed earlier in the ceremony.

"Before all those gathered, the gods above and the gods below."

Charlotte stared at the glint of the sharp blade before them, watching the light shifting along its surface as Yami's hand shook ever so slightly.

"May our bond be strong, weaving forward into eternity."

Charlotte felt two voices competing within her as she repeated the words. One begged for the bond to be strong enough to stand the test of time, while the other begged for the bond to dissipate like mist in the sun.

"Now, you, um, well, with this, I guess you would each slide your finger along the blade edge? Usually, the bride and groom have different needles..."

"Like this?" Yami pressed his middle finger into the edge of the sword and quickly jerked his wrist to the side. The motion caused the blade to bite into his flesh. He winced in pain but only for a moment. When he pulled his hand away, Charlotte could see a thin rivulet of blood running down his finger and along his hand. She took a deep breath and reached out for the blade herself. The blade sliced through her skin cleanly and quickly. She barely felt her flesh dragging against it as she jerked her wrist to the side in mimicry of Yami's movements. Within seconds, she felt blood welling in the wound and dripping down her hand. Panic set in briefly as the blood dripped onto the white gown, but she had only a moment to consider the stain.

The two active grimoires hovering before them flipped rapidly through pages before settling to a blank one in each.

"Now, each of you places a drop of blood on the blank page before you."

Charlotte glanced at Yami as he placed the sword on the ground next to him and then his hand over the book. A drop of his blood fell from his finger and hit the page, spreading out as it was absorbed and then disappearing in a flash of light as his name was written at the top of the page. He looked at her and then at the book before her. Charlotte stretched her bleeding finger over the blank page so a drop of blood could fall upon it. The droplet spread out and vanished in a flash of light as her own name appeared at the top of the page.

She gasped as she recognized her own signature in a dark blue ink highlighted with gold.

"Now, bound in blood mixed, add a drop of blood to your partner's grimoire."

Charlotte turned to face Yami. As she reached out to place a drop of her blood to his grimoire, the book turned toward her. At the same time, her grimoire turned toward him as if the books were seeking an easier path. Charlotte looked at his name, his signature. She realized she had never seen it before, not in his own hand. She had never known how formal it looked, or how much he flourished the first letter of his last name. The ink-if it could be called that-shimmered like the sheen one could see on a slick of cooking oil which had been spilled into a cast iron pan if one tilted their head just so, all purples and greens overlaying the black seasoned surface.

She reached out her hand and let her blood fall onto the page as he did the same.

Time seemed to slow as she watched the drop of blood fall and strike the paper. The wind swirled through the square, whipping around them. Only it wasn't wind at all. She could barely feel the slightest of breezes while everything around her blew as if in a storm. Everything except Yami. They stood together as if they stood at the eye of a hurricane. As the wind around them grew, so did the streaks of light spiraling around them, swirling and spinning upwards in tendrils of bright blue and deep purple-black. The strands of glowing mana formed a barrier between them and those watching the proceedings, plaiting together into a complex weave as they reached for the heavens.

The sight of the colors took Charlotte's breath away.

And as quickly as it had started, the colors were gone and the wind had died. Charlotte looked at the grimoire before her. Even though the flurry of mana had lasted only a moment, somehow her own grimoire had returned to her in the chaos. She looked at the once blank page to see it now filled with writing. Their signatures dominated the page, each in their own special ink which she realized must have been drawn from their mana. The rest of the writing was in gold.

She went to read it, but before she had a chance to really look at the content of the page, she felt a large hand on her back. Yami pulled her close to him and pressed his lips against hers.

Charlotte would have thought it was nice and might have even let herself enjoy it, but she was still dazzled by the intermingling of their mana. She pressed her palms against his chest and pushed him away. Her face was as scarlet as the streak of blood she left on his chest. She slapped him across the face, more out of reflex than anything else. Her mind raced with the intensity of the last few moments and the strength of the pull she now felt for him.

"That wasn't supposed to happen," she mumbled more to herself than anyone else. Her face burned as she turned her attention to her grimoire once more-anything to look at him right now.

The swirling colors and lights were dazzling but not as dazzling as Charlotte looked when she stared at them in awe. As Yami watched her watching the visualization of their mana twisting and braiding together, he felt something within him shift, as if the intermingling of the lights around them reached deep into the cores of their beings and twisted them together.

The feeling scared him as nothing had ever scared him before.

He had seen the ceremony on several occasions before, watching from the sidelines as comrades got married, a distant observer who had only been invited to bear witness out of obligation. Those other times he had found the light show which was a feature of the binding process to be intriguing and impressive, but none of those times prepared him for being at the center of the ritual.

And none of those times had carried with it the explosive magical output he felt now. The bride and groom had always been bound together through wispy tendrils of mana, mist-like and faint, twisting together into the sky.

Maybe it was different because he was on the inside? Maybe for them all, it had looked and felt like standing in the eye of a storm? He would have asked, but he did not feel close enough to any of his married colleagues to broach such a personal topic.

The light faded and the wind which had flowed around them had died down, but Yami looked at Charlotte, still feeling all twisty inside.

She ran a hand over the page in her grimoire which recorded the event and he moved closer. Without thought, he acted. He had always trusted his instinct and his instinct told him now how much he wanted her. He had banked on nothing happening at all-at most the wispy tendrils of mana he had seen before. He still expected nothing to come out of the binding or for it to come undone quickly.

True, their mana had woven itself together into a tight complex braid, like the fibers woven together to make a strong rope. True he now felt drawn to her so much so he found himself kissing her.

And kissing her felt so right.

Until she pushed him away and he felt the sting of her hand against his cheek.

"Sorry, I..."

She turned away from him, looking with false intent at her grimoire. Her entire body had flushed crimson.

"This wasn't supposed to happen." Her voice was anxious and quiet. He wanted to wrap her in his arms, to comfort her he told himself, but it was more than that. He felt she belonged there like she was missing.

He satisfied himself with rubbing his stinging cheek instead as he watched her read over the page in her grimoire. He reached out for his, commanding it to return into its dormant state. The book settled into the specially crafted bag which nestled against his back at his hips.

The robed man cleared his throat. Yami turned to him and had a strong sudden urge for a cigarette.

"Can we continue, please?" The man said as he smoothed his robe and replaced his hood.

Yami looked around noticing for the first time the effect of the mana storm they had summoned in their joining. The people watching the scene looked at them in fear and awe. Banners had been ripped from their poles and strewn across the plaza. The entire market had been affected as fruits and vegetables scattered on the ground, papers floated down like feathers. Somewhere a child was crying.

Yami took out and lit a cigarette. He glanced at Asta, who stared at them slack-jawed. Yami narrowed his eyes at the kid for a moment, wondering what it was now which had set the kid's mouth agape.

"Yeah," Yami said as he turned back to the officiant. Charlotte mumbled, her focus squarely on her grimoire.

"Lady Charlotte?"

"'Released only if the magic unravels...' Huh? What?" She lifted her eyes from the book as she tried to comprehend what was happening.

"May we continue?" The robed man had straightened himself out as best he could, but Yami could hear the frustration in his voice.

"Oh, sorry. Um, yes?"

"Yami, you have the rings?" He lowered his voice as he addressed them alone, apart from the crowd watching. "And remember, this is supposed to be fake. We used steel instead of gold because it is fake and steel generally frays these sorts of contracts while gold enhances them."

"Right." Yami fished the pair of rings from a pouch at his waist separate from the pouch where he kept his cigarettes. Steel fraying magical bonds could be exactly what they both needed. He handed the rings to the robed man who took one in each hand and held them up to the sky.

"Circles are unyielding and strong. They have no beginning; they have no end. For this purpose, we use rings to show the strength of our love, of our bond with each other. Like you two, Charlotte, Yami, have forged a bond between you, may that bond ever be as strong as the circle symbolized by these rings." He addressed the crowd without even looking at the "bride" or the "groom". Once he had finished speaking, he turned to Charlotte and placed one of the rings into her hand. She stared at the circle resting in her palm as the officiant turned and faced him.

Yami held out his hand for the ring. The steel of the circle reminded him of the steel of his blade. Steel which severs instead of gold which binds and reminds as it does so that flaws can be beautiful.

He sighed and looked at Charlotte again, feeling a sort of tightness in the strange twisty part inside him. Whatever had been bothering her seemed to have passed. She took a deep breath and let a serene mask settle over her face. On the outside, she had returned to being Her Prickly Majesty, but Yami could still sense a change in her ki, could feel how she also felt all twisted up. She straightened and looked toward him, but her eyes never went past his neck. She coughed and then looked over at him in annoyance. This time she did not avoid his eyes with the glance.

He wrapped his hand around it as the robed man called for their attention once more.

"Can you please put that out? This whole thing may be a farce, but let us at least have the illusion of formality." The officiant hissed through his teeth at Yami.

Yami looked him straight in the eye, took a long drag on the last of the cigarette between his lips and blew it out slowly at the man. He dropped the end of the cigarette on the surface of the platform and crushed out any remaining embers with his toe before returning his attention to Charlotte. Her eyes were closed and her lips were pressed together in a thin line. She shook her head slightly before opening her eyes to roll them at him.

The officiant coughed and waved away the smoke before turning his attention back to the ceremony.

"Now, Yami, take Charlotte's hand."

Yami complied. The lightness of her hand against his still surprised him. He lay his palm flat beneath hers.

"Now prepare to put the ring on her and say 'Bound in blood, bound in mana, this ring is a symbol of my never-ending love and support for you'."

Yami took a deep breath and released it. He finally caught her crystalline eyes, dazzling blue in the sunlight. He slipped the ring onto her finger, never wanting her to take it off.

"Bound in blood, bound in mana, this ring is a symbol of my never-ending love and support for you." He stumbled over the word love. Could it be love? That twisty feeling inside which tightened up when he looked at her?

Charlotte had tried once again to compose herself, to face the world with the strength with which she faced every other task, but the look in his eyes as he slipped the steel ring over her finger made her crack inside.

Just as when she had made the mistake of looking at him when he recited the vows, she felt even more strongly now there was truth behind his words and actions. Perhaps it was an unknown truth before, but it was true nonetheless. Her own soul seemed to answer with the truth of its own as she looked at the band now circling her finger. The officiant looked at her.

"Now take Yami's hand, Charlotte and prepare the ring."

She took his hand which dwarfed her own and slid the circle on to his finger up to the first knuckle. The robed man recited the line.

"Bound in blood, bound in mana, this ring is a symbol of my never-ending love and support for you."

Charlotte repeated. As the words passed her lips, a lightness filled her spirit as if a massive weight had been lifted from her heart. Saying the words, which had lived for so long in her heart, felt good and right. She pushed the ring fully onto his finger and looked up at him, smiling. He reached his free hand to her cheek and brushed his thumb across her cheekbone. She chuckled and closed her eyes, feeling tears slip down her cheeks. She didn't care who saw, or that the ceremony had been staged. She didn't care if people saw her as weak for this moment in which she felt her heart soar at his touch. She felt happy for the first time in as long as she could remember.

And when he kissed her again, this time she did not back away.

The cheer which erupted brought her back to reality. She looked out over the crowd, blushing, to see nothing but happy faces. After a moment of looking, she remembered the whole point of the exercise-to convince the nobility to accept the possibility bridal gowns designed by a commoner. She took a step away from Yami's embrace but nestled her hand in his. He squeezed her fingers as if to say they would talk about things later.

She couldn't agree more.

Charlotte looked at her dress and glove, where she knew blood had dripped and stained the fabric. Only the dress was white and blemish-free as if the stain had never been there in the first place.

Julius joined them on stage, standing between the two brides and called up the designer. Charlotte reluctantly pulled free of Yami's hand to turn and spin for the crowd. She said a few words about how wonderful the dress was and how easy it was to move in. She made a point to mention the lack of staining from the binding ritual.

Somehow in the confusion and the presentations, Charlotte didn't notice Yami slip away. But when she turned back to where they had stood together her was gone. She felt a little tube in her spirit, a tightening of sorts or twisting and stretching. She couldn't quite describe how it felt, only that it made her miss him. She looked at the ring he had placed on her finger. She knew something more had happened between them, something deep and unspoken. She wished she could talk to him now though, alone away from prying eyes so they could figure it out.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days after the bridal faire, Charlotte sipped tea in the garden at her squad headquarters. She had thought to go home and rest, but a new mission had required her attention. So she had stayed.

And now she looked once more at the newly inscribed page in her grimoire, the page written in blood and bound in mana. She read it fully for what seemed to be the thousandth time.

Charlotte Roselei on this day joined with Yami Sukehiro in the bonds of union. Their souls united and their mana joined for eternity, as long as the magic holds.

The last phrase was the way out, she knew. Her cousin had gotten married a few years ago, but her partner abused her and slowly as the abuse came to light, the spell which bound them together unraveled at the seams. The page in her grimoire had turned black and unreadable, marking the memory of the marriage, but also showing the world the marriage had been dissolved

Looking at her grimoire now, the page was crisp white, an even brighter white it seemed than the other pages. The writing was vibrant as well, showing no signs of fading at all. Charlotte ran her hand over the page.

"So I guess we really did do this." She muttered before taking a sip of tea.

The grimoire flipped to the next page, which had been plank until the pommel of a sword hilt appeared to manifest from inside the book. As she hilt appeared, Charlotte grasped it in her hand and pulled, expecting her briar whip to appear.

The longsword she withdrew from the pages surprised her. As the blade formed from the thorny vines, Charlotte felt the tugging, pulling in her chest again.

"Yami." She whispered to herself, feeling a wave of loneliness wash over her.

"Captain?" Asta called out to Yami as he stood out in the clearing. Yami barely registered the voice as he read the new page in his grimoire. He had spent the last few days pouring over the page documenting the joining with charlotte, and the subsequent page which had appeared following.

"Captain?" Asta called out again and this time Yami raised his head. "What are you doing out here?"

"Experimenting." Yami read the newest page once more and tried making sense of the spell written there. He had never considered using his magic as an area of effect attack. The casting would take time and the process would be slow, needing a great deal of concentration to pull off with his dark magic. The spell had Charlotte written all over it. Yami took a deep breath and let it out slowly, allowing his magic to seep through the ground beneath him and toward the straw man he had set up as his target. The ground turned black behind the leading edge of his magic; it didn't kill the grass just cast it in a strange sort of shadow as if it were lit from below. The magic traveled slowly through the ground, and Yami wished he could hurry it as he did with his normal attacks by joining them with his sword.

But this was not so straightforward of an attack.

As the magic reached the target, Yami twisted his hand. The darkness sprang up from the ground beneath the target and enshrouded it in a cocoon of black. With another twist of his hand, the spell contracted until the target splintered into a thousand tiny pieces.

"Whoa! That was amazing Captain Yami! When did you learn that spell? I've never seen you use anything like it before." Asta ran over to where the pile of wood and straw which had once been the target now lay.

Yami ignored the question as he looked at his grimoire once more. He absently rubbed the metal encircling his finger with his thumb.

"Her magic is ridiculously scary sometimes," he muttered to himself.

"Impressive spell." Julius' voice sounded out of nowhere. Yami turned around to see his mentor and friend.

"What do you want Julius? Last time we talked like this you asked me to do something and I accidentally got married."

"Not legally."

Yami scoffed and then looked at the ring on his hand. The once steely metal now had veins of gold shooting through it. Was Charlotte's changing as well? The thought of her made his insides go twisty again.

"That's little comfort given what happened."

"I came to apologize, Yami. I never meant for anything like that to happen. I just... the two of you make a good pair, don't you think?"

"You had nothing to do with it. I pushed her and she called my bluff. And I guess we are both too stubborn to back down."

"Have you seen her since then?"

"No."

"Do you plan on it?"

"I'm sure something will happen to bring us together." Yami looked squarely at Julius. "We are both Magic Knight Captains, after all. But I'm in no rush."

"I see."

"Are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you in a rush?"

Julius gave him one of his ineffable smiles, the kind which always pissed him off, the kind which made him wonder if Julius was planning something.

"Anyway, that spell..."

The sudden change in the subject gave Yami all the answers he needed.

"Can I see it again? It looked familiar."

"Probably because it was based on one of Charlotte's spells. It's too slow for my tastes though. Works better with faster magic."

"So you won't use it?"

Yami shook his head.

"And you won't go talk to her?"

"Nope."

Why should I go talk to her? She was there as much as I was, she could come to talk to me if she wanted.

"Sometimes your wait-and-see attitude is infuriating, you know that, Yami?"

Yami shrugged and lit a cigarette. As he took the first drag, a flare of magic erupted in the space between them and coalesced into the image of Julius' aide.

"Sir, you're needed at the capital. And please, try to hurry this time? The king has been asking for you for the last half hour and he's tired of my excuses."

Julius sighed and his shoulders sagged.

"Duty calls." He smiled at Yami. A portal opened behind him. "Talk to her."

Yami shook his head as he exhaled slowly.

Julius threw his hands up in defeat before stepping through the portal. Yami stared where the portal had been for a moment, thinking maybe Julius was right.

"They let you keep the rings?" Asta asked from out of nowhere. Yami startled a bit, having forgotten the kid had come outside earlier.

"Uh, yeah." Yami was thrown off by the question, but then the kid had a habit of catching him off guard.

"One day I'm going to put a ring on Sister Lily's finger like that. I wonder if our binding will be as... impressive as yours, Captain." He rambled. Yami looked at the hope in his face. He exhaled a plume of smoke and shook his head. The kid didn't stand a chance with the sister. But, Yami thought, the kid is the most persistent person he had ever met, so who knows?

"And you and Captain Charlotte? The Wizard King said you weren't legally married, but what does that matter, if you're married in the heart?"

Yami grunted as he looked at the book before him, at the new spell and Charlotte's name. Married in the heart, huh? Yami grabbed his grimoire and turned to the building.

"Shouldn't try to think too much, Kid. It's not good for your health."

He said it as much as a warning to himself as to anyone else. Thinking about this... thing with Charlotte made his head hurt. He couldn't figure it out on his own. But neither did he want to push the issue. But he also wanted to know what this thing was. Whatever it was kept him running around in circled in his mind and twisted up his feelings until he didn't quite know which way was up.

He wanted to kiss her again, to check if what he had felt, what he was still feeling, was real. He kept looking at the page in his grimoire expecting it to fade because it would be just his luck for the universe to play one giant cosmic joke on him for all of the times he had tempted fate.

He wanted to know, but he couldn't ask.

No, he told himself. He couldn't ask directly or out of the blue. He wouldn't go to her to figure this out; he would let fate run its course. And if fate brought them together again, then he could ask. Let the him-some-time-from-now figure it all out. Now he just wanted a nap.

The sword was heavy, far heavier than Charlotte ever imagined it could be, heavier than it looked when she had retrieved it from her grimoire. Charlotte knew she was not a weak woman, but the sword strained her arms in a way she had never experienced. She took a deep breath to calm her frustrations. She would not give up. She would never give up.

She tried lifting the sword once more, feeling the tremors in her arms from the exertion. She shifted her feet, centering her weight over them as she had seen Yami do before, and the ache in her arms eased somewhat. She held it in place until she could no longer see the tip of it wavering. She tried to swing the blade, but the weight of it pulled her off balance and she stumbled forward. The vine sword, despite its compact nature, was so different from her whip in both proportion and function. Charlotte let the blade fall to the ground and as it touched the soil, it dissipated into raw mana.

Charlotte sighed, defeated for the day.

"Wow, Sis. I didn't know you could make a sword out of your vines!"

Charlotte had wanted to keep the new spell a secret and had sought out a place to practice alone and out of the way. She should have known Sol would have tracked her down.  
She looked down at the hilt in her hand, a magic item she had been drawn to as a young woman.

"I... it's something new I've been experimenting with, Sol. And please, call me Captain." Charlotte added in exasperation. The young woman's penchant for addressing her so casually had been sweet at first, but it had grown cumbersome quickly. Now she had to make a reminder of their positions nearly every time they spoke to each other. And even then, it typically fell on deaf ears.

"It looks really cool, Sis. How did you come up with it?"

Charlotte sighed, defeated once more, but encouraged by Sol's enthusiasm.

"I... I didn't. The spell appeared in my grimoire a few days ago." Charlotte returned the hilt to where it was stowed inside the book before tucking the book back into the satchel at her hip.

Sol looked at her somewhat confused as if she were trying to figure out the origin of the spell.

"A couple of days ago? You mean after the fake wedding?" The annoyance in Sol's voice was unmistakable.

Fake wedding.

Charlotte had to remind herself constantly of the falsehood of the ceremony. She had been goaded into the ritual-first by Julius, and then by Yami. Or so she had told her sisters in the squad.

She had not told them she had been too stubborn to back down in the end.

Nor had she told them about her curiosity over what would happen, or how she chose to follow through because she needed to know where she and Yami stood.

And she certainly had not told anyone how much she wanted Yami's lips on hers once more or how she dreamed of him every night since then.

"Yeah. It just appeared. Must have something to do with the ritual." Charlotte turned toward the building in the distance. She wanted time to think, to reflect on so many things-on the crisp white page in her grimoire, the new spell, the unfamiliar weight of the ring on her figure and the streaks of gold appearing there. She wanted to figure out what she was doing wrong with the sword, why it was so heavy.

And mostly she wanted Sol to stop asking her questions which always seemed to have an underlying disgust within them every time she mentioned the recent events.

Charlotte wanted quiet.

But even as she ignored Sol's yammering about how the entire event was staged-a lie she had felt forced to tell-Charlotte knew even in the purest silence, she would hear the beating of his heart. Or maybe less hear and more feel the deep steady thrumming of his spirit echoing her heartbeat.

She knew no peace since that day, since the lights surrounding them, since the feel of his lips against hers.

"I hate to suggest it, Sis, because you are amazing at everything, but maybe you could go talk to someone about the sword? I know there are mages out there who use swords made of mana. Maybe pick up a few pointers?"

Charlotte stopped and turned back to Sol. She was right, Charlotte realized. Some advice might be warranted. She had always tried to do everything on her own, and hadn't he always told her she to ask for help if she needed it?

Her heart raced as the thought crossed her mind. She could go ask him about it. He was the finest swordsman she knew and the spell itself seemed to have his signature all over it.

But what would he say? He had disappeared quickly after the ceremony. Did he have second thoughts about what happened? Did he regret suggesting it in the first place?

"I... think about it, Sol. Thank you."

She rubbed her thumb against the golden-threaded ring on her finger. She had taken to the habit far more quickly than she ever thought possible.

Asking for help would be a convenient way of seeing him again...

Charlotte blushed as she turned once more to the building. But how to ask him? She couldn't come outright and ask. She never could speak to him. Every time she tried, she ended up yelling at him or insulting him.

She wondered if he had seen through her. Surely by now, he had realized how she felt?

The summons came in by letter rather than Marx's usual transmission. Yami looked at the paper and tossed it on the table before stubbing out his cigarette on the fine parchment.

"Captain? Isn't that from the Wizard King?" Asta's eyes were wide and star-struck as Yami abused the note from his idol.

"Yep."

"Shouldn't you, I don't know, treat it with more respect?"

"I already know what I need to know from it. Not like I have to keep the paper." He lit another cigarette and inhaled. "Finral!" He said on the exhale, smoke billowing from between his lips. "We're heading to the capital."

The spatial mage appeared next to him. His eyes, too, held excitement at the summons.

"The capital? Oh, all the cuties are waiting! When do we leave?"

"Now."

"Now? But I..."

"Now." Yami cut him off.

Finral ran his hand through his hair.

"Guess this will have to do." He opened a portal in the middle of the common room, and when Yami stepped through, they were just outside the headquarters of the magic knights. Yami grunted as he looked up at the building.

"You can go do whatever until it's time to go home." Yami did not bother looking at the other man, knowing his attention was already elsewhere. He pushed open the door in the thick wall surrounding the main building and stepped through into a courtyard.

"No, Sol. I'm fine. It's a simple summons to a meeting. Nothing urgent." Charlotte said once more as she scanned the paper in her hand. The note had indeed come from Lord Julius, but the idea of him writing a note instead of his normal method of summoning the captain, somehow, sat wrong with Charlotte.

"If it's not urgent, then why are you in such a rush?"

The young woman did have a point. And yet, Charlotte could scarcely control her anxiety over the meeting. All the captains had been summoned. The letter had said as much. The timing was convenient, as Charlotte had agonized since she had tried out the new spell in her grimoire about how to confront Yami. She didn't want to talk to him. She was afraid to talk to him. But nothing would get better if she didn't. She had waited nearly ten years to tell him how she felt, but now it seemed as if the universe was forcing her hand.

She had to talk to him.

She had to tell him.

Her heart raced at the thought, as the realization hit her. If she could feel his heartbeat, could he feel hers? Did he know how anxious she was?

Did he even want to see her again?

She looked at the note once more, curious at the method of delivery, but trusting Lord Julius had his reasons.

"I'm in a rush because the Wizard King commanded it."

But she knew it was a lie.

Her urgency came from her need to see him again, to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Well, Sis, I could use a trip to the capital," Sol said as she prepared herself to accompany her captain. Charlotte bit her lip.

"Captain." The response came automatically. "You don't have to go with me. I'm, it might run late." Charlotte felt a flush of heat in her cheeks. She tried her best to bring her body back under control before she looked at the young woman.

"I will stay as long as you need, Sis."

Charlotte sighed as she looked at Sol's earnest eyes and knew she would not be able to convince her to stay.

Marx ushered Yami into an empty room.

"Julius will see you in a bit."

"Wait, where's everyone else? There is no way in hell I'm the first one here."

Marx opened his mouth to say something and closed it quickly. His eyes darted to the floor before he looked back at Yami.

"Julius wanted to talk to you in private first. Just, um, wait here." Marx hurried out of the room before he was faced with further questioning.

"The Old Man better not forget about me here!" Yami called to the retreating aide.

Yami paced the small, stately room as he chewed on an unlit cigarette. Anxious at being left waiting, he opened the window and lit his cigarette. He had a deep-seated suspicion Julius had called him to the capital for something other than a formal meeting.

A deep inhale calmed his nerves. He watched the clouds float across the sky as he sat on the window sill. He lost track of time as he gazed out into the sky. A storm brewed in the distance, but he knew the capital mages would ensure the rain would not fall on the city's streets. Above the city, the sky was a brilliant blue streaked with high white clouds. The sky reminded him of the last time he had been called to the capital-again at Julius's bequest. Had it only been a week ago? The sky had been the same as he walked into the square. Brilliant blue streaked with white.

Blue like her eyes.

He inhaled on the cigarette once more and let the breath and smoke out slowly.

Why had her eyes come to mind?

As he stared at the sky, the ceremony replayed itself in his mind. Her hard, determined eyes never wavering from his, though he could feel nervousness in her ki, and in how her hand shook when she touched the blade or held his hand. He rubbed his finger over the ring she had placed upon him. The metal was warm, far more so than he had thought possible. He looked at the ring, now more gold than iron, feeling a strange fluttering within it.

He had tried to take it off, but somehow it would not go over his knuckle easily, despite being loose otherwise. He spun it around his finger. He had gotten it off once, with a great deal of effort and as many tricks as he could think of, but once it was gone he had put it right back where it came from. He had told himself he wanted to see if it came off more easily-it didn't. He refused to acknowledge how quickly he missed its presence.

He heard the door creak open and Marx talking to someone outside. He sighed, blowing smoke out of the window as he continued to gaze over the city. Marx's voice wasn't agitated enough for the person with him to be Julius, but Yami did not want to turn around and look, even if he was curious. He rubbed his thumb over the ring again.

Footsteps sounded as someone in boots walked further into the room. Metal boots.

The thrumming feeling in the ring grew stronger.

Yami took a drag on the cigarette in his hand but still did not turn around. He flicked the remaining nub out the window and rubbed his newly sweaty palms against his pant legs.

But still, he did not turn around.

He could feel she was there.

Was she waiting for him to turn around? Was she even looking at him at all?

He cursed Julius silently, wagering the old man had thrown them together in a separate room on purpose.

Yami shifted in the window sill.

"It's, um, it's a lovely view." A twang of nervousness held an edge to her voice.

Yami turned to see her still hovering near the door, shifting her weight between her feet. Her attention floated everywhere except him.

"Yeah."

"I thought this meeting was for everyone?"

Yami scoffed.

"Apparently not."

Charlotte's face screwed up in confusion and she glanced back at the door. She sighed as she walked further into the room.

"I guess it's not the first time Lord Julius has played either of us for fools."

"And it probably won't be the last."

Yami watched as she placed her hands on the back of a chair before taking her helmet off and placing it on the table.

"Probably not." She met his eyes. The air hung heavy with unspoken questions and words held tightly within. Charlotte looked away first and closed her eyes as her cheeks colored red. She did not bother to hide it now.

Yami pulled out another cigarette and fiddled with it between his fingers as he looked out the window once more. He willed himself to move, to go to her. He wanted to tell her what had happened and to ask her if she also had strange things going on since the binding.

Charlotte moved around the table as she felt him look away. Her heart raced and she wondered if he could feel it, either through the ring, like she had felt his heartbeat or with his strange way of knowing things and reading the room.

She rubbed her thumb over the ring as she closed the distance to him. A deep breath filled her lungs and was released slow and shaky as she stood near him. The steady thrumming she had felt from it earlier had taken on a more irregular rhythm. Her eyes widened as she looked him over. The way he sat, how he fiddled with his cigarette, the visible tightness in his shoulders spoke volumes his voice would not say.

She cleared her throat.

"So, um, Yami." Charlotte took a deep breath when she heard the unsteadiness in her voice. "Um. How are you?"

Stupid, she thought as she closed her eyes and pressed her lips together in frustration.

"I'm... I'm good. You?" His voice held a quiver she did not expect.

"I'm alright. I guess." She felt a great sense of ease wash over her as if the nervousness she had always felt around him had fallen away into nothingness.

"Good."

Silence fell over them for a moment. Yami continued to stare out the window. Charlotte looked past him and out over the city as well.

"I wanted to ask you something," he said as he lit his cigarette. His voice was back to its confident, cocky self.

"What's that?" Charlotte's heart raced once more.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you agree?"

Charlotte looked out over the city in silence for a moment.

"Why did you ask?" She answered his question with another question.

He blew a long stream of smoke out from between his lips.

"I asked you first."

Charlotte scoffed.

"I don't know." She started before she shook her head. "No, that's a lie."

Yami turned and looked at her with wide eyes and raised eyebrows.

"Really."

Charlotte closed her eyes again feeling the rush of blood warming her cheeks.

"Yes. Really."

Yami turned to her fully and brushed her hair from where it had fallen over her eye. Charlotte gasped. Despite the lightness of the touch, she could feel the uncertainty in his fingertips.

"So tell me, honestly. Why did you agree?"

"I, um," She tried to look him in the eye, but she could not hold his gaze. "Well, I like you. A lot, actually. Probably more than I should."

"And?"

"I guess I wanted to see if there was something real, or if all I felt was a pointless infatuation."

Yami threw his head back in laughter.

"That's one hell of a way to figure that out, Charlotte. You ever think to just, I don't know," He shrugged. "Maybe ask me?"

Charlotte forced herself to meet his eyes.

"Ask you?" The rapid fluttering in her chest turned to a steady pounding as her ire rose. "And exactly how was I supposed to do that when every other sentence out of your mouth was some sort of insult or retort?"

She breathed heavily, angrily as they locked eyes. She glared at him in silence, waiting for his response as he looked at her in shock.

"I gave as good as I got, I will have you know. I wasn't the only one insulting people they liked."

Charlotte's anger turned to surprise as her eyes widened and she inhaled quickly.

"So, um, why did you ask in the first place?" She asked after another silent moment.

Yami's tongue darted out quickly between his lips and his eyes drifted to the floor. He shrugged, but something in his body language told Charlotte he knew exactly the reason, even if he didn't want to admit it.

"I thought it would be fun?"

"Don't lie to me."

"Fine." He ran his hand through his hair. "Ugh, I want a cigarette."

"Then have one." Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"Julius doesn't like it when I smoke in here."

"But you do it anyway. And don't change the subject." Charlotte pressed him. She gazed at him, refusing to waver. Her hand somehow landed on his shoulder, though she couldn't quite remember placing it there.

"I, um," Yami shrugged again, his voice turning softer. "I guess I was curious too. I mean, I've always thought you were pretty. Too pretty for words, actually, but I never for the life of me thought I could, or you might... I..."

Charlotte watched him stumble for words for a moment. She had never thought him eloquent, not by any stretch of the imagination, but neither had she ever imagined him as tongue-tied as he was trying to answer her question.

"You always seemed so far away."

Charlotte took the risk as she leaned in and pressed her lips against his. Her hand on his shoulder slipped around the back of his neck and she slid her fingers through his soft hair. She had meant for the kiss to be brief, but he drew her in as he placed his hand on her lower back, just beneath the edge of her armor. She placed one hand against his chest, where she could feel his strong steady heartbeat echoing her own thrumming heart.

He gently broke away from the kiss but pressed his forehead into hers. His grip on her back seemed to tighten, drawing her in further.

"I like you too. A lot. Probably more than I should."

Charlotte heard something, unfamiliar in his tone. Something warm, vulnerable, genuine, and completely different from how he spoke most of the time. The softness reminded her of the day a week or so ago when they last stood facing each other. She could hear the smile in his voice echoing the one she felt spreading over her lips.

"I just never thought it could be possible you might feel the same way."

Charlotte lifted her head and met his whiskey-colored eyes.

"I don't believe it."

Yami's face screwed up in confusion.

"Why not?"

"I don't believe we sabotaged ourselves so easily, both thinking the other couldn't reciprocate? Were we really that dense?"

Yami shrugged, but despite the movement, he still pulled Charlotte ever so much closer.

"Who knows?"

He leaned in to kiss her again, a short quick peck.

"Nevermind, I know who would have known." Yami rolled his eyes, shaking his head slightly.

"Lord Julius?"

Yami pressed his lips together into a thin line and nodded.

"I mean, he did manage to get us together today, didn't he?" Yami looked up at the intricately carved ceiling. "Damnit, I knew he was going to do this. I just knew it."

Charlotte let out a nervous chuckle.

"What do you mean?"

"He showed up the other day when I was trying out this new spell," Yami said as he stared into the memory, and then suddenly looked at Charlotte. "Which reminds me I wanted to ask you about that, but anyway," Yami sighed and scratched the back of his head. "But Julius shows up and says I should talk to you. I knew he would find a way to make it happen. Crafty old bastard."

Charlotte scoffed.

"He is the Wizard King. One can't get there without being crafty. And Lord Julius isn't exactly old."

"Nah, but he is a bastard."

Charlotte glared at him with wide, shocked eyes.

"Yami." Her voice was strained as she grappled with his disrespect.

"What do you care? You hate men, remember?" He countered, but the twinkle in his eye and the upward tick to his lips followed by a quick kiss did much to quell her frustrations.

"I don't hate all men." Charlotte felt the color rising once more in her cheeks.

"Right." Yami's hands slid across her lower back and then downward until they rested on her rear. Charlotte let out a sound somewhere between a whimper and a squeak, and Yami chuckled once more.

"You wanted to ask me something? About a spell?" She managed to get out, though her voice felt a little more strained than usual.

"Hmm? Oh, right." Yami released his grip on her and pulled out his grimoire. "I think something weird is happening because of the binding." He slipped out of the window sill he had perched himself on and placed the book on the table. Charlotte followed him and looked at the book. The pages fluttered from an unseen wind until the book lay open.  
Charlotte recognized her signature in the midpoint of the page.

The page itself was a brilliant white as she had ever seen-as brilliant as the same page in her grimoire. Charlotte retrieved her book from its satchel and placed it open on the table. In a very few minutes, her book was opened to a nearly identical page. Both pages seemed to glisten white as if they were imbued with a light of their own. Both pages were marked by a deep blue, purple-black, and gold inks. The gold letters glittered in the light reflected from the page. Both pages said the same thing, though the order was different.

"Does this seem like it's gotten, I don't know, more sparkly?" Yami asked as he stroked his fingers over the page.

"I thought it might have been my imagination."

Yami grunted before reaching for her hand and bringing the ring encircling her finger close to it.

"Yours is turning golden too." His brows knit together as if he was thinking.

"I guess so." Charlotte took his hand and satisfied her curiosity about his ring's current state.

Yami flipped to the next page in his grimoire.

"And a few days ago, this spell appeared out of nowhere. I can't use it though. It needs faster magic."

Charlotte looked at the text in his grimoire, trying to make out the content of the spell buried in the archaic symbols on the page. The language in which the grimoires were written was similar to modern writing but different enough to cause difficulties when trying to read someone else's grimoire. Charlotte's eyes widened when she discovered she could read the spell with ease.

"That's..." She flipped back to an earlier page in her grimoire and compared the two spells. The text was nearly identical, but even the different parts were easy enough. "It's exactly like my corpse hunting trees spell. It's just... tailored for different magic, for dark magic." She looked up at him. "How did you...?" Charlotte trailed off as she started turning pages in her book once more.

"It just showed up a few days ago."

"This showed up in mine." She shoved the book toward him. Yami scanned the symbols as quickly as he could, which was far easier than he expected, but after seeing Charlotte's reaction and ease of understanding what was happening, he was not surprised.

"Huh. So you got that spell."

"What do you think this means? Isn't it a little odd that our signature spells just show up in the other's grimoires, perfectly tailored to the other's magic?"

"Seems like the universe if playing a very nasty trick on us."

Charlotte sighed.

"Well, I hope, whatever the trick is, it ends soon."

Yami stiffened next to her.

"I mean, having random stuff showing up in your grimoire, especially stuff that you can't use, is a bit annoying."

"You can't use it? The spell, I mean." He scratched at the back of his head. "I thought you had that item that looked like a sword hilt."

"I can, technically. I can use the spell to form the blade, but it's too heavy and I don't know what I'm doing with it. I was hoping I could ask you about that if I ran into you today."

"Well, I'm here now."

"Right." Charlotte took a deep breath. "You've always told me that I didn't have to rely on myself only, that it's alright to turn to others sometimes, right?"

"So you were listening. Sometimes I wondered about that." Yami turned and leaned against the table. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her.  
Charlotte bit her lip to keep the retort building within her from erupting. Shooting back an insult had become so ingrained, she found it a difficult habit to stop.

"Yes." Her voice was strained and she balled her hands into fists. Yami certainly could read her body language. He reached out and touched her arm.

"Hey, I was joking." The tenderness had crept back into his voice and the tone, coupled with the touch made her gasp.

"Well, this is me asking for help."

"With what exactly?"

Their eyes met and Charlotte felt paralyzed by his gaze. She struggled to speak, to even think of what words she should say."

"The sword. Teach me." She said, breathlessly as she seemed to drown in his eyes.

Yami nodded, never once taking his gaze from her. The sincerity of her request shown in her crystalline eyes. He watched as they dilated slightly, making them seem more like the deep ocean waters than their usual clear ice.

"Sure." He licked his lips unconsciously and he rubbed his hand over her arm, down until his fingers were intertwined with hers. "You should come by sometime."

Charlotte did not know if she had kissed him or if he had kissed her, but almost as soon as the invitation had left his lips, she had succumbed to the desire she had felt building within her and between them. The kiss was intense, maddening. Charlotte felt drawn in by it, and knew, if anything, the attraction they felt for each other at least was real. She wanted more. She wanted his hands on her skin like they had been the day of the wedding. And she wanted more than that.

Right before she started fantasizing, Charlotte heard the door creak open. Yami froze mid-kiss but did not turn to see who had intruded.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Julius said, with a deep amusement in his voice. "But I had a few other things to which I had to attend. Though, it seems I am interrupting something?"

His laughter was barely contained by his formal tone.

Charlotte blushed crimson as she looked at one of the few men in the world who she deemed completely worthy of her respect.

"Lord Julius! I'm, no, you didn't interrupt anything." She backed away from Yami's embrace, but the Black Bulls Captain grabbed her wrist and held it fast.

"Oh yes, you did." Yami turned to his mentor, brother, and friend. "You know good and well that you did, especially considering you arranged for all this in the first place."

"Yami, you give me too much credit."

Yami scoffed.

"You sure did keep us waiting, Old Man." He lifted his weight from the table and stood next to Charlotte.

Julius looked from Yami to Charlotte and back with a small unreadable smile on his lips.

"Shall we get to business then?" He motioned for them to follow him out the door. Charlotte started to circle the small table, but Yami's grip on her wrist held tight.

"Don't forget your grimoire, and you really should come by soon." He kissed her on the cheek as he handed her the book of spells-the book of her soul. The feel of his thin mustache and stubble beard against her cheek was unfamiliar, but not unpleasant.

"Right." She placed the book back into its pouch. Yami did the same, releasing his hold on her in the process. "I guess we should be going now?"

As they stepped out into the hallway, however, Charlotte's heart began to race as Yami took her hand in his.


	3. Chapter 3

A few days after the meeting, Charlotte finally worked up the nerve to take Yami up on his offer. She had not been subtle in her approach, but still the large ramshackle building seemed nearly empty.

"Watch; with my luck no one will be home." She muttered as she dissolved the chariot of roses in which she traveled. She took a deep breath and walked up to what could only be described as the front door to the building.

She knocked, but there was no answer. She knocked again, expecting the same result, but just as she prepared to leave, the door opened.

"Those idiots, leaving everything a mess before they disappear, I swear I will kill them someday." Yami's muttering was distinct and loud, despite the under-the-breath tone of it, a tone which changed completely when he saw who was at the door.

"Charlotte." His eyes were wide, surprised by her presence.

"Is this a bad time?"

"What? No!" He blinked as his mind turned, trying to make sense of what was going on. "I mean, I was going to take a nap, but..."

"I was wondering if you could help me with my sword technique?"

The question was a good excuse, a reason to be there. And it was true she wanted to learn how to use her new sword skill better, but she also wanted more. Something in the way she said it, in the way she looked at him must have finally registered in his mind. Yami looked her over, taking a deep drag on the cigarette dangling from his lips and turning his head to blow the smoke away from her.

Charlotte had foregone her usual attire, leaving her armor and helmet at home. Even her hair was loosened from the strict bun she typically wore.

"Yeah. Sure. You, um, wanna come in?" He held the door open and stepped back, giving her room to enter.

Charlotte took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders before she stepped past him into the absolute disaster area he had complained about so loudly.

"Interesting place."

"Sorry about the mess." He tossed the cigarette out the door before closing it behind her. "My idiots a basically pigs at times."

"Seems like you have a lack of discipline among your team."

Yami shrugged.

"I guess you could say that. Though they are less a team and more..." He shrugged once more. "I don't know, family?"

Charlotte stopped at the word, frozen to the spot. She crossed her arms over her chest as if a chill had taken her.

"What's wrong?" Yami's brow was furrowed when she turned to look at him.

"Nothing." She shook her head and tried to force herself to relax. She made herself smile at him, a small thin smile.

His frown only deepened and he stepped closer to her. He brushed her hair back behind her ear, his fingertips lightly brushing her cheek. Charlotte sighed at the touch and leaned into it almost without thought.

"If you say so."

Yami looked at her as she responded to his touch, eyes closed, dreamy smile on her face, and he knew something was not quite right. Something had startled her, something about the word family. Something he could not figure out. He was still deep in thought, his eyes still sought clues in her face as she opened her eyes.

She was not alright, as she insisted, but she believed she was. Skepticism filled his eyes.

"If you say so."

She stepped away from his touch even as he sought to draw her closer. He grunted in frustration.

"So, sword training, huh?" Perhaps addressing the official reason she had come would help to open up other topics of discussion. "I'd like to see this sword of yours."

"I guess that's only fair." Charlotte pulled her grimoire from the pouch on her hip where she always stored it. The book flipped to the page where her spell had been written as if it had been commanded to do so. The magical item which allowed her to form her vines into an easily controlled whip manifested as a bronze colored sword hilt. The book flipped a page once more, past the bright white sheet emblazoned with blue, black, and gold. The new page was written in the deepest purple she had ever seen, and was a far cry from the deep royal blue of the rest of the grimoire. The glow of light as the spell manifested lit her face in a ghostly blue glow, which had always highlighted her beauty. Or at least, Yami had always thought so. The magic coalesced into brilliant green vines which glowed with an internal light of their own for a moment. The vines knit themselves into a complex plaitwork, forming the shape of a blade. The blade itself was studded with tiny blue buds with a fully bloomed rose near the hilt. Once the glow faded, the blade dulled into a rich verdant green, but the vines had tightened as if it were solid metal.

Yami whistled, impressed at the spell. The blade was less like his katana and more like the few swords he had seen used by the guards in the kingdom.

"Can I see it? will the spell fall apart?"

"I'm not sure," Charlotte said as the weight of the blade drew her arm downward. "Ugh, why is it so heavy?"

Yami brushed her hand as he took the hilt from her and lifted the sword with ease. the magic held firm.

"Well, that's good to know..." Yami glanced at the spell in the book. "Hmm... this reads like one of mine. Nearly word for word and it's weighted for me, it seems."

"If I can't fix that, I will never be able to use this spell."

"Probably not. I mean, you could work on your strength, but this is still overly heavy for a woman."

Charlotte scoffed.

"Gee thanks."

"That's not what I meant."

"Still..."

"Maybe you can reconfigure it to be more suited to you, though." He turned toward her, placing the handle of his katana between them. "Take mine to check its weight."

"Are you sure?"

Yami had always been protective and overly careful of his blade. His offering for her to hold it was off-putting.

"No, not really, but I'm trying to figure something out." He looked at her blade once more. "I wonder if you could adjust the shape as well. I cast the spell over the blade, though I can use my magic to make the blade if I need to. So the magic takes the shape I choose." The sound of Yami's blade being drawn and Charlotte grunting as the tip drifted toward the ground echoed through the empty room.

"Careful." Yami reached out to support her wrist holding her blade easily in the one hand.

"I got it." Charlotte grunted as she shifted her grip and pulled the blade upward and closer to her body.

"How's the weight on that?"

"Not as bad."

"Maybe we should go see a blacksmith and figure out a good style for you." He handed her sword to her, point down and hilt up.

"I don't know." She took the blade and passed back his own in a similar fashion.

He looked at her, frowning. She still looked uneasy, uncertain. He slid his sword into its sheath and placed his hands onto her shoulders.

"Hey. You wanna go outside and see what you can do with it?"

Charlotte closed her eyes and nodded her head.

"I guess so. It is why I'm here, isn't it?"

He looked at her a moment more before placing his hand beneath her chin and tilting her head toward his. He kissed her gently and pulled her closer to him as she melted into him.

"Is it?" He asked, unable to keep the amusement from his voice as he pressed his forehead against hers and pulled her body against his.

"Of course it is." Charlotte said as she slipped her arms around his chest and laid her head on his shoulder. Yami rubbed his cheek against the back of her head, catching some of her loose blond hair in his stubble. As it flew free, it tickled his nose. She felt good against him, he had to admit. Her presence so close to him stirred him up in a way he hadn't experienced in a long time-not since he was young and dumb, or at least dumber. He knew there were times he was still pretty stupid. Talking Charlotte into an impromptu marriage was one that came to mind.

But now with her in his arms, the smell of her filling his nose, the soft strength with which she held him made him wonder if the idea hadn't been quite so ridiculous.

The moment was quiet, perfect, and then she lifted her head. When he looked into her crystalline eyes, he saw unshod tears. He swallowed hard, trying to wrap his mind around how she could be on the verge of crying when he had found the moment so perfect.

"What's wrong?"

"What are we doing, Yami?"

"What do you mean?"

She closed her eyes and the movement sent a pair of tears streaking down her cheeks. He brushed at one with his thumb.

"I mean this." Her voice was a whisper, wavering uncertainly. "Is this whole thing just a sham? What are we supposed to do? It's doesn't seem like the universe wants to give up this joke."

He kissed her cheek.

"Who said it was a joke?"

"No one." She shook her head. "It's a bit unbelievable, though, don't you think? I mean..." She looked up at him, meeting his eyes. "What are we supposed to be to each other? How are we supposed to fit into each other's lives? How am I supposed to fit in your family? Will mine ever accept you? I mean, I love you, but is that enough?"

Yami's heart stopped for a moment. He had known for a long time, at least deep down, even if he hadn't wanted to admit it. He knew how she felt. It was why he had always teased her in the first place. He knew she loved him. But to hear her say the words was something else entirely.

"Hey." He took her hands in his and brought them to his lips. He kissed the knuckles on each hand before smiling at her in the most reassuring way he could manage. "I told you before that if the binding stuck we would be partners, didn't I? That we would have each other's back?"

She nodded.

"That hasn't changed, has it?"

She shook her head.

"No."

"Good."

"But what does that mean? How serious is this partnership going to be?"

She looked up at him with expectant eyes he could not decipher. She seemed to have an answer in mind, but was waiting for him to make the call. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. The feelings stirring inside him were thoughts he had yet to really untangle. And now the nearness of her had set his body into a spiral all its own. He didn't want to let her go. He wanted to kiss her again. He wanted to be with her in ways he hadn't been with anyone in a long time. but it was more than that. He wanted to love her. And he was fairly certain she wanted to love him the same way.

"I guess wait and see isn't going to be a good enough answer?" He asked as he met her eyes once more. She pressed her lips into a thin line. of disapproval.

"I need to know. The uncertainty is eating away at me driving me mad."

"I... I'm not sure, Charlotte." His heart raced as the words passed his lips. He was the liar now. He bit down hard on his lip, and was shocked when he did not draw blood. He shook his head.

"No, I do know. I know what I want." He gripped her biceps with his strong hands and held her away from him slightly. He kept the distance between them as he pushed her backward into a wall. He pressed his lips into hers in a rough desperate kiss. He had waited too long, denied himself too much over the years. He had focused too much on what he should do and not enough on what he wanted. He had wanted her for a long time, for longer than he would admit. From the grip she took on his hair and how her nails dug into his skin as she pulled him closer, he knew she had wanted him too.

"I want to be your husband." He whispered in her ear, his voice deep, gruff, raw with desire. He kissed the top of her neck, right above where her high collar exposed it. "I want you to be my wife." He kissed her again, pressing his body against hers. "I want to be your lover."

She gasped before pulling him into a kiss once again. His eyebrows shot up as she thrust her tongue between his lips. He slid his hands down, around her back and lifted her upwards, until he had to tilt his head up to kiss her. She wrapped her legs around his waist. She smiled against his lips before looking him in the eye.

"What do you want, Charlotte?" He asked in a pant, hoping her desires echoed his own. She bit her lower lip a moment before pressing her forehead into his and then kissing him again. The weight of her strained his arms, but he would live through the pain a thousand times if it meant he would get to be with her.

"I want you." Her voice was a husky whisper. "I've always wanted you."

He grinned as he carried her through the house to his room.

"You said we would be partners. That's what I want. In every sense of the word." She brushed his hair back from his face, sliding her fingers through the silky strands. "And right now, I want you to show me how much you want me."

Yami kicked open a door and sat her on the edge of a low bed. He nudged the door closed with his foot before he pushed her onto her back.

"So, if I asked you right now if you wanted to make all of this official and binding, you would say yes?" He hovered over her.

"Yes." Charlotte grinned up at him.

"Because, we do this and I don't know if we will ever be able to untangle ourselves." His heart raced. He wanted her to back down, to admit it was all a mistake, to say she didn't feel anything for him, that it was a joke of the universe. He wanted her to say it and he wanted to believe it. But looking at her beneath him, her crystal blue eyes wide and filled with desire, a smile like none he had ever seen before dancing on her lips, happiness exuding from her in a way he had never expected, struck a different chord within him.

Charlotte wrapped her arms around his neck. The touch quashed any insecurities he clung to about their incompatibility, or about their feelings being faked somehow. He looked down at her again, recognizing for the first time what the twisty feeling had been all along. Looking down on her now as she smiled up at him, their bodies so close, their souls linked as one, the twisty feeling which had troubled him smoothed and washed over him and rinsing away his doubts like a cleansing bucket of water rinsed away soap and dirt.

"I love you."

Charlotte's eyes widened in surprise and then her smile spread into a grin. She brushed his cheek.

"I love you, too."

Yami kissed her then, slow and deep, pressing his body against hers once more. The eagerness was still within him, and she met it with her own, but the urgency had died somewhat. The immediacy was replaced with a slow, painstaking exploration he would never forget.

As they made love and consummated their union, their grimoires, abandoned on the floor as they had stripped each other bare, opened to the bright white pages within. Each glowed with the light of their souls as more golden words appeared on the pages. And as they lay in each others arms exhausted, Yami looked at the ring on his finger. Julius had assured them it had been iron, a metal which could sever magic. But now it shown glittering and golden in the glancing rays of light bouncing through the window, with no streak of silver to be found.

A/N: didn't have the time to fully edit this, so sorry for any grammatical issues. Maybe it will get fixed later, maybe not, I don't know.


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